Chapter 21. Installation Phase 1: Configuring a Network Device

After the kernel boot, you will configure one network device using the linuxrc program. This network device is needed to complete the installation. If you are installing interactively (with the default parameter file generic.prm), you will be asked questions about your network. It is a good idea to have your data ready in the form of a datasheet or similar. If you want to automate this step, supply the information for each option in your parameter file or CMS configuration file.

As an example, let us look at how to configure an OSA network adapter under z/VM. When linuxrc starts, you see the following message:

Starting the zSeries initrd to configure networking. Version is 1.2Starting udev...

Network devices are sensed and listed. The list of devices depends on the cio_ignore kernel parameter used. If no devices are found because of cio_ignore, as in the example below, you can clear the list of ignored devices. Note that this might take some time and result in a long list when there are many devices, such as on an LPAR.

Enter the number of the configuration you want to use, for example 9. Selecting from the table provides the installer with information for the type of network device and the device addresses for its subchannels. Alternatively, you can enter m and proceed to enter the network type (qeth), the read, write, data channels, and the OSA port. Accept defaults by pressing Enter; under z/VM you might need to press Enter twice.

If you want to change something, enter r to restart the dialog. To show the parameters as specified in a parameter or configuration file or interactively enter p. You can then copy the output from your terminal and paste it into an editor to save it to disk on your local workstation. You can use the copy as a template for a parameter or configuration file for future installations:

Again, to change something, restart the dialog with r. Finally, if all is in order, enter c to continue:

cStarting sshd to allow login over the network.Connect now to 10.0.0.42 and log in as user 'install' to start theinstallation.E.g. using: ssh -x install@10.0.0.42For VNC or text mode, disable X11 forwarding (recommended) with 'ssh -x'.For X11, enable X11 forwarding with 'ssh -X'.You may log in as the root user to start an interactive shell.

The preliminary network setup is now complete and the installer starts an SSH daemon. You can log into your Linux instance over SSH. If you are using RUNKS=1 with kickstart and cmdline mode, linuxrc automatically starts the loader.

21.1. A Note on Terminals

During the installation, the installation program displays messages on a line-mode terminal. This is the HMC Operating System Messages applet if you install under LPAR, or a 3270 terminal if you install under z/VM.

Linuxrc provides a rescue shell on the line-mode terminal. Press the Enter key (twice under z/VM) to start the shell. You cannot use full-screen applications such as the vi editor on the line-mode terminal. Switch to line-mode based editors such as ed, ex, or sed to edit text files if necessary.

Be aware that long-running commands might not be interruptible with the escape sequence Ctrl+C. Call commands with options that make them return in time voluntarily. The shell on the 3270 terminal is available throughout the whole installation process until the point where the system needs to reboot.

Once the shell has been provided, you may exit with an error level of zero to get a new shell instance replacing the old one, or you may exit with an error level different from zero to force a shutdown of the installation system.

Connect to the installed system using user root to get a root shell without automatically starting the installer. For problem determination, you might connect with many ssh sessions.

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